RallyCross® Rules

RallyCross® Rules

last revised 03/10/2011

1.

General Rules

1.1.

In the case of questions regarding safety, protests, or any issue regarding general rules, the president, Rally VPs, and event chairs will be involved in the decision. They may ask for input from anyone else not involved in the question. If one of them is involved in the issue, they will remove themselves from the discussion. Involved parties will be allowed to offer their input.

1.2.

If, for some reason, disciplinary action must be taken, all club officers present at the time of the incident will decide upon the correct action. While no fines may be levied, the officers may ask a competitor to leave the present event, may ban them from a number of events, or may request that they never participate again. Except for the first example, a special meeting will be called to more fully discuss the later options. All club officers should attend. Any club officer involved or related to the individual involved will excuse themselves from the meetings. If it is decided that a person be banned from all further events, a letter drafted by the club president will be sent to that person. In the letter will be the details of why this decision was reached. The competitor may ask that this be reviewed yearly.

1.3.

Event chairs will be responsible for making any decisions or clarifications regarding the running of their specific event. Event chairs, after consulting with the Rally VP's and club President, will determine the number of runs. They will also determine if fun runs will be done.

1.4.

On event set up days, only event chairs, or drivers selected by event chairs, may run the course. It is desirable that the driver for the safety preruns be someone that is not going to compete in the rallycross.

1.5.

No alcohol, drugs or any controlled substance may be consumed during the event. An event starts when registration opens and ends when the last run is made and the course is picked up.

1.6.

All people must sign the insurance waiver. This includes all participants, spectators and crew. Participants are responsible for having their family members, crew or friends sign the waiver and wear a wristband issued for that event which indicates such. An announcement will be made by the event chairs at the drivers meeting pointing out this rule. It is the responsibility of all participants to prevent anyone without a wristband from entering the course area.

1.7.

The course may be walked as many times as desired before the drivers meeting. Only walking is allowed. This rule is intended to keep people from riding bikes or such during the walk through.

2.

Eligibility of Participants

2.1.

Participants must have a valid drivers license at the time of the event and must be prepared to present such license during registration. Learner's permits are not acceptable.

2.2.

All participants must be 18 years of age, OR if under age 18, must have a THSCC minor release form signed by a parent or legal guardian. Such form is to be presented and signed off by the President, Sr. Vice President or Rally VP, then turned into the registrar. A valid drivers license is still required. (Minor release forms are to be kept on file with insurance waiver forms).

2.3.

THSCC reserves the right to refuse to allow anyone to participate if it is not possible to verify the above qualifications.

2.4.

Passengers under 12 years of age are not permitted in any runs on course, including fun runs. Any exceptions must be specifically approved by the President, or in his absence, the highest ranking club officer present at the event.

3.

Safety and Car Preparation

3.1.

It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that his/her vehicle is properly prepared and safe for competition.

3.2.

Speed through the pits will be no more than 10MPH. No tire warming, brake warming or other high speed maneuvers will be allowed anywhere on the event sight. Pits are defined as starting at the first cone for the course and ending 20' beyond the last car, or its trailer/tow vehicle, entered in the event. Violation of these rules will be grounds for asking a competitor to leave the sight.

3.3.

All cars must pass technical inspection. If the car has a THSCC annual tech, it does not need to be teched again. In addition to THSCC annual techs, Car Guys and THSCC Time Trial annual techs are acceptable. If the car needs to be teched, inspection will only be done after the driver(s) have registered. Once tech inspection closes, typically 15 minutes before the drivers meeting, cars will be teched as time permits. However, each driver will get the same number of runs as other competitors in class.

3.4.

Sunroofs must be securely attached to the car or completely removed from the car. Convertible top vehicles must have at minimum a 4-point roll bar meeting SCCA Solo I requirements.

3.5.

All loose objects must be removed from the car and trunk. Spare tires may be left in if secured.

3.6.

Helmets and seat belts must be worn on every run by every person in the car. This includes fun runs and runs during set up days.

3.7.

At a minimum, the drivers window must be all the way down. Both sides is preferable. Exceptions may be made for runs made during heavy rain.

3.8.

Only experienced rallycrossers are permitted to ride as passengers with novice drivers. A novice is anyone having participated in 3 or fewer rallycrosses. If a passenger is taken on a run by a non-novice, that run will be ruled a DSQ (disqualified).

3.9.

During runs, drivers and passengers, if any, must keep arms and hands inside the car.

3.10.

Car numbers and class need to be on both sides of the car. If more than one driver, driver is responsible for reporting to the starter the correct class and number.

3.11.

Starting with the May 2011 event, helmets must be Snell M, K, or SA dated 2000 or newer. No DOT-only rated helmets will be allowed.

4.

Registration

4.1.

All competitors must check in at the registration desk before registration closes, even if pre-registered. After registration closes, usually 9:30AM, a $10 fee will be charged.

4.2.

Competitors must be prepared to show a valid drivers license at registration.

4.3.

During registration each driver must designate which one class they are running in for points. A driver may register for a second set of runs, subject to the following limitations:

Competitor must receive event chair or Rally VP approval for second entry.

Second entry may only be registered during the last 30 minutes of on-site registration.

Second entry must be made with a distinct class/number combination.

Total number of registrations must be below event limit.

An entry fee must be paid for EACH class.

One work assignment must be completed for each entry.

Only the first half of runs made are eligible to have a score recorded.

The competitor MUST inform the starter to score a "DSQ" (disqualified) for any runs while driving for the second entry, AND for all of his second set of runs.

Registration will be refused to anyone who has not signed the waiver and who is not wearing a wristband.

5.

Worker Assignments

5.1.

Each driver must work the course. If they can't work the course they can arrange to have someone work it for them. Also, no THSCC points will be awarded to them. They will be awarded a DNW (Did Not Work).

5.2.

Only competitors entered in the event will be allowed out in the course area. Exceptions may be made by event chairs, Rally VPs, Sr. VP or the President.

6.

Classes Supported

6.1.

The following classes will be supported by THSCC:

U2 - Normally-aspirated, 2-wheel-drive vehicles having an engine displacement of 2400cc or less.

O2 - 2-wheel-drive vehicles with forced induction or an engine displacement between 2400cc and 6000cc.

O4 - All 4-wheel drive vehicles.

All competing vehicles will be further classified into one of two class categories:

S - Street Tire. For the purposes of this class, a "street tire" is defined as a "summer use" or "all-season" tire from any manufacturer that does not have an knobby or overly aggressive tread pattern, as determined by the Rallycross VP or his designate. Specifically excluded are snow tires, rally tires, mud-terrain or all-terrain tires, and any tire with a knobby tread pattern.The intent of this definition is to permit any "normal" street tire to be used in competition. However some tires will obviously push this limit, and the Rallycross VP reserves the right to make (or delegate) that determination on a case-by-case basis. Note: many OEM truck and SUV tires will be deemed too aggressive to meet this classification.

The complete set of classes, then, is SU2, SO2, SO4, NU2, NO2, and NO4.

Note: Some events, due to site limitations, may be designated as "Street Tire Only". At those events only the 3 Street Tire classes will be supported, and any competitor who can not meet the Street Tire requirements will not be allowed to compete.

7.

Event Scoring

7.1.

A car that misses a gate, or passes completely on the wrong side of a course-defining cone or marker, will be judged to be Off-Course for the run, unless the car goes back and corrects the mistake.

7.2.

A car that has been scored as Off-Course will be given a fixed maximum (bogey) time for the run. The bogey time for each event will be posted and/or announced at the pre-event driver's meeting.

7.3.

Points are only awarded to a participant that completes at least one run. Off-Course runs do not count as completed runs.

7.4.

Season points are awarded to paid-up THSCC members only and are awarded as:

1st place = 10 points

2nd = 8 points

3rd = 6 points

4th = 5 points

5th = 4 points

6th = 3 points

7th = 2 points

8th = 1 point

No points are awarded for participation only.

7.5.

Any cone or course-defining marker that is no longer standing upright, or has been completely displaced from its defining box, will count as a 2 second penalty. Cones that are knocked down by debris kicked up from the competing vehicle will also count as a 2 second penalty.

7.6.

A car that starts its run but is unable to complete it will be given a bogey time for that run. A car that takes longer than the bogey time to complete a run will still be given the bogey time. Once a car crosses the start line the run is officially started. In other words, a car that is in the start box, starts to move forward when given the OK by the starter but breaks before crossing the start line has not officially started a run and will not be given a bogey time. Once the car crosses the finish line the run is over. (This last part seems obvious but it is intended to clarify any situation where it is possible to hit the finish line before finishing the course. For instance, miss a turn and wind up unintentionally in the finish box).

7.7.

If, during a run, a participant sees a cone out of place, he/she must bring the car safely to a stop on course and point out the cone or cones. After this is done and the corner worker acknowledges this, the participant will drive to the finish line as specified in the rerun rule. The participant will be issued a rerun. This rule does not apply to a cone moved by that participant during their run (i.e. on the way out along the same part of the course they come back on).

7.8.

If a cone is knocked down by a competitor on the way out on a part of the course that is used again on their way back and has not been reset by a corner worker because of insufficient time between the two passings of the car, no rerun will be issued. In this case, the competitor will drive the line that was originally marked by the cone. No extra cone penalty will be given if the knocked down cone is hit because it is in the line. The reason for this rule is to keep a competitor from gaining an advantage because of a knocked down cone and to protect the course workers.

7.9.

For a timer malfunction or other situation resulting in a rerun, the car on course should be red flagged as soon as is safe and possible. The car should proceed at reduced speed in as direct a manner as possible to the finish line without following the course.

7.10.

A car that is red flagged for a safety issue will be given a rerun. Safety should always be the prime consideration by all corner workers. If a competitor's car develops a mechanical problem that may cause a safety problem, even if the car is capable of finishing the run, they should be red flagged. Because the red flag was for a safety problem and NOT the mechanical problem, the competitor will get the rerun.

7.11.

Anyone damaging the timing equipment or hitting the large cones by the timing equipment will be given a bogey time for that run and will be responsible for the costs of replacing/repairing the equipment.